Face to Face with... Pablo Minces

Creative director Pablo Minces knows all about having dreams. He once had his sights set on becoming a professional footballer, but now focuses any spare time he gets on being the next big thing in music. Of course for most people these sorts of ambitions serve only as fantasy, but when you’re a creative director at a global ideas agency like Santo, they can be extremely beneficial.

As one of three creative directors who conceived the current campaign for Diesel - Diesel Island - he explains how this project isn’t really about being stupid, but has moved on to become a brave and challenging development for the label.

The campaign's pretty big, was it always part of the plan to make it this encompassing?

Well, we are driven by passion and the desire of doing interesting things and trying new stuff. I think we were all dragged into the big idea and we all wanted to do more. The Diesel guys are very inspiring and open minded, that makes you want to really keep going. Many things we've done ourselves, like VOs or some of the music (I sing in Lullaby with my broken English accent).

How long did the six films take to produce and how big was the team involved? 

I can’t say because it’s been a strange project to produce. Probably the most challenging production I’ve ever been involved with. There was just a limited amount of actors and several units working in parallel. The team probably consisted of about 10 people. There were photographers, film directors, the photographer who did the 360° images for the street view aspect of website (for doing those kind of pictures, you have to clear the whole production team in post). It was crazy. We’d been there for a week, but some days could only shoot for 45 minutes. And then there was the tropical rain!

 What was the most demanding aspect and what was the best part?

What wasn’t demanding? Producing the whole thing was very hard because of the coordination of efforts. Stink Digital and Landia did a fantastic job managing resources. But for me at least, when I have fun and feel excited about what we are doing, it doesn’t feel like a job, it's not demanding. It’s more like a game. Hey, imagine that there is just 15 minutes of light left and it’s raining, and the actors are tired and we are all infected with mosquito bites. Now, what do we do? Game on. 

Do you think the national anthem could be seen as offensive? There's a few mixed comments on YouTube...

I wouldn’t say offensive because it’s clearly not serious. I can understand why some people may not like it. It’s fine. Companies are usually obsessed with good reviews and not pissing anyone off. I think the relationship between a brand and the people is like a human relationship. What would you think of me if I only said nice bland things? Would you not like me anymore because I think differently? Can we argue sometimes and keep on being friends? Also, sometimes polarising is good.

 Is there more to come from the campaign?

 I can’t reveal what’s coming. But it’s a live campaign. People are building the nation online. And we don’t yet know what the impact on the island will be.

What's the most stupid idea you've ever had and what happened?

Be Stupid is not about stupidity really, it’s about bravery. I am a Jewish writer, not brave at all and very paranoid. Things just happen inside my mind. I regret every adventure in my life; I should have stayed home watching a movie or reading a book.

If you could make your own law up to come into force everywhere, what would it be?

 I can’t decide between prohibiting wars or Justin Bieber…

 What's your favourite place in the world and why?

It has to be a beach, maybe an all-inclusive hotel in Playa del Carmen (Mexico) or Punta Cana (Dominican Republic). Since it’s all paid in advance you don’t think of money, you can eat as much shit as you want and you hide from troubles at least for a while. The world is fucked up, but you wouldn’t notice it.

What have you seen or read recently that would be relevant to shots readers?

Influence by Robert B. Cialdini. It’s an eye opener about the way people manipulate other people. It gives you a certain amount of power, which I hope shots readers will use for the right purposes.

And what are you up to next?

I shouldn’t say what’s coming from our clients. Personally, I’ve been working on my music. I’m turning 34 and my chances of becoming a rock star are fading away, the same way I lost my professional footballer dreams.